Student Study Guide
Lesson 11
Kingdom Authority
Section 1 - The Governing Principle
Section One
Opening Statement: Everything in the kingdom of God is about authority. This is not a slogan or a motivational frame - it is a governing principle. Once it is properly understood, it reorganizes the way a believer reads Scripture, approaches prayer, exercises faith, and positions themselves before God.
The promise "all these things shall be added to you" is conditional on the first half: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. There is an ever-shrinking level of teaching on righteousness and on the kingdom of God in the church today. That is a serious deficit, because the kingdom is the framework within which everything else operates.
Fill in the Blanks
1. The word "kingdom" is a compound of two words: and dominion. It speaks of a king's domain - the realm where God's word, government, and authority are supreme.
2. Everything in the kingdom of God is about . This is not one theme among many - it is the principle of the kingdom.
3. The promise in Matthew 6:33 is on the first half: seek first the kingdom and His righteousness. The promise for "all these things" is not detached from the condition of .
4. Isaiah 9:7 declares of the coming Messiah: "Of the increase of His and peace there will be no end." The government of God is ever-expanding, ever-increasing.
Your Reflection
Section 2 - Authority Runs Through Everything
Section Two
The connection between authority and the doctrines already covered in this course is direct. Sin, repentance, and faith are all, at their core, authority issues.
| Doctrine | The Authority Dimension |
|---|---|
| Sin | The rejection of God's legal right of authority over our lives. Before any outward act of sin, there is an inward decision to reject God's right to govern. |
| Repentance | The reversal of that rejection - the decision to stop rejecting God's legal right and to accept it. |
| Faith | The practical expression of that acceptance: recognizing that God has spoken, that His word carries heaven's full authority, and yielding to it without demanding to first understand or feel it. |
Fill in the Blanks
5. The essence of sin is the rejection of God's right of authority over our lives. Before any outward act of sin, a person must first make an inward decision to reject God's right to govern them.
6. Lucifer's declaration, "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14), was not first an action - it was a to reject the legal right of the One who created him.
7. Repentance is the of sin's rejection - the decision to stop rejecting God's legal right of authority and to accept it.
8. Faith, as demonstrated by the Roman centurion, is recognizing that God has spoken and that His word carries heaven's full authority behind it - then to it without demanding to first understand or feel it.
9. The centurion understood that Jesus, being fully to the Father, had been given the legal right to exercise heavenly power. All Jesus needed to do was speak the word.
Your Reflection
Section 3 - Sent as the Father Sent
Section Three
10. Jesus was sent by the Father with power and authority so that when He spoke, what He spoke came to pass. In John 20:21, He declares He sends His disciples with the power, anointing, and authority - provided they remain in the same posture of that made His ministry possible.
Central Principle - State it plainly:
You do not have the legal right to exercise authority unless you are under authority.
11. In any domain, a person who exercises authority they have not been given is not a leader - they are a . They have seized control of something that was never rightfully theirs.
12. The spirit of independence in the church today - where believers say "It is just me and God" and refuse to come under any human authority structure - is not a sign of maturity. It is a symptom of the same disposition that drove rebellion.
Your Reflection
Section 4 - The Greek Word That Changes Everything
Section Four
EXOUSIA The Greek word for "authority." Its definition: the legal right to exercise power. There is a critical distinction between having power and having the legal right to exercise it.
13. When Jesus said "I give you exousia," He was giving His disciples more than raw spiritual force - He was giving them the right to exercise power. Spiritual power without the legal right to wield it accomplishes nothing of lasting consequence.
14. The authority Jesus grants in Luke 10:19 is tied to . Jesus Himself obtained it through submission - through obedience to the Father even unto death on the cross.
15. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed: "Not My will, but ." And because He was fully under authority, the Father gave to Him "all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18).
16. Jesus did not claim all authority as an inherent divine right. He it as the Father's gift, granted in response to His perfect obedience. Authority is . It is not taken. It flows downward from a submitted position, never upward from an independent one.
Your Reflection
Section 5 - The Independent Spirit: A Disease in the Church
Section Five
Named and diagnosed: The spirit of independence - insisting on doing one's own thing, refusing to come under the authority of any human structure, resisting accountability, dismissing spiritual covering - is a disease running through the contemporary church.
17. God's pattern, from the beginning, has been to work through structures of authority. Even the Apostle Paul, who received a direct appearance from the risen Christ, was not simply released into ministry on his own recognizance.
18. Paul was not a law unto himself. He was sent through the at Antioch, after the Holy Spirit spoke to the leaders and the elders fasted, prayed, and laid hands on him.
19. The Bible does not call believers to . It calls them to , to be mutually submitted, functioning within the government of God.
20. A person authority cannot legitimately it.
The CHP Illustration: A California Highway Patrol officer carries extraordinary powers - but only because he is under authority. The badge is not a symbol of personal greatness. It is a symbol of the authority granted by a governing body above him. Authority cannot be taken. It can only be given. And continued authority requires continued submission.
Your Reflection
Section 6 - Seek First the Kingdom - The Promise and the Condition
Section Six
This returns to where the lesson began. Jesus did not say, "Seek first financial principles, or sowing and reaping, or the methods of blessing." He said: Seek first the kingdom - the government, the authority, the domain of God.
21. The poverty and powerlessness many believers experience may be connected to the fact that they run from conference to conference looking for blessing, while resisting - the government of God in their personal life, church relationships, and submission to the Word.
22. Isaiah 54:17 is the heritage of the of the Lord - not of the self-appointed, not of the independent, not of those who seized authority for themselves. Servants, by definition, are authority.
23. Positive without spiritual authority behind it is just words. Religious ceremony without the legal right of the kingdom behind it produces religious noise. The issue is always the .
24. Jesus came preaching: "Repent, for the of heaven is at hand." The kingdom is not merely a metaphor for blessing - it is the authority of heaven pressing into every domain it is invited to occupy.
The legal right to exercise power is not presumed upon - it is granted. It flows to those who are genuinely, continuously under authority. And the church will not walk in the power it was designed to carry until it comes fully under the authority it was designed to submit to.
Final Reflection
Lesson 11 - Practice Test
Auto-graded upon completion
Complete all sections, then click "Submit & Grade" to receive your score with instant feedback on every question.
Part A: Multiple Choice (5 questions · 2 pts each)
1. What is the precise definition of the Greek word exousia?
2. What did the Roman centurion understand about authority that caused Jesus to marvel?
3. How did Jesus receive "all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18)?
4. Why does the lesson call the "spirit of independence" a disease in the church?
5. According to Isaiah 54:17, to whom does the heritage of "no weapon formed against you shall prosper" belong?
Part B: True or False (6 statements · 1 pt each)
1. The spirit of independence - "just me and God, I answer to no one" - is a sign of spiritual maturity and a strong personal relationship with God.
2. Authority can be legitimately taken by those who feel called by God, even without being given that authority through proper channels.
3. Once authority has been granted, it is guaranteed permanently regardless of the holder's continued submission and conduct.
4. Sin, repentance, and faith are all, at their core, authority issues.
5. The Apostle Paul, having received a direct appearance from the risen Christ, was released directly into his worldwide ministry without any need for human authority or sending.
6. Positive confession without spiritual authority behind it is just words; religious ceremony without the legal right of the kingdom produces only religious noise.
Part C: Fill in the Blank (5 items · 1 pt each)
1. The Greek word for authority is , defined as the legal right to exercise power.
2. You do not have the legal right to exercise authority unless you are authority.
3. Authority flows from a submitted position, never from an independent one.
4. Isaiah 54:17 is the heritage of the of the Lord - not of the self-appointed or independent.
5. Continued authority requires continued .
Part D: Short Answer (completion credit)
1. Explain the CHP officer illustration. How does it demonstrate both the nature of authority and its conditions?
2. What does the lesson say is the real reason many believers experience poverty and powerlessness? How does Matthew 6:33 address this?
3. In what way are sin, repentance, and faith all authority issues? Give a brief explanation of each.
Part E - Before You Leave
What human authority structure has God placed in your life that you have been resisting or treating casually?
Is there an area where you have been exercising authority you have not been given - going without being sent, acting without covering?
My specific commitment to submit this week: